


Promises in the Dark

by collatorsden_archivist



Category: Ashes to Ashes, Life on Mars & Related Fandoms, Life on Mars (UK)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, BDSM, Crack, Dark, Deathfic, Horror, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Madness, Police Procedural, R/NC-17 - Red Cortina, Time Period: 1973-1981 (Life on Mars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-04-07
Updated: 2008-04-07
Packaged: 2019-01-20 20:07:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12440658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/collatorsden_archivist/pseuds/collatorsden_archivist
Summary: Musical version of The Psycho!Samatic Cycle in its entirety.





	Promises in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Janni, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [the Collators' Den](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Collators%27_Den), which was moved to the AO3 to ensure access and longevity for the fanworks. I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in October 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [the Collators' Den collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/collatorsden/profile).

  
Author's notes: For Andy and Cuvalwen, without whom the source material would never have existed. This is a joint birthday present, and with any luck will go up solidly between their birthdays, which are suspiciously only 4 days apart. Hrrm. ;)

All lyrics involved in this musical are copyright their respective authors, and all bits and pieces are used with no infringement intended and no money being made (full list of just exactly which songs were so pillaged to be provided in endnotes). And also no disrespect. And I don't think anyone else would want to claim credit for the finished product anyway, so. XD Soundtrack (un)available on WTF Records.  


* * *

_[WE ENTER ON A CLOSED CURTAIN. The curtain draws back as the slow strains of a keyboard are heard, doing a fade-up through the auditorium. THE CURTAIN opens on A LONE FIGURE, with spotlight casting that figure into shadow as it sits slumped over a chair turned backwards. THE FIGURE is sitting sideways on the chair, and clearly holds something on its lap. As a spotlight comes up on the figure, we see it is A LITTLE GIRL in a red dress, with blonde hair, holding a small stuffed clown.]_

 

 

GIRL: _[sings]_ You know and I know my clone sleeps alone

 

She's out on her own - forever

 

She's programmed to work hard, she's never profane

 

She won't go insane, not ever

 

No VD, no cancer, on TV's the answer

 

No father, no mother, she's just like the others

 

And you know and I know, my clone sleeps alone...

 

 

_[THE MUSIC begins to speed up, and the girl comes alive as the song intensifies, and she gets up from her chair and begins to dance. The spotlight widens, and it is revealed that there is an entire army of little blonde girls who all dance in unison, twirling their clown partners as they dance around the stage and the first girl continues to sing. THE CLONE ARMY joins in on the chorus, and it is revealed that they do, indeed, harmonise quite well together.]_

 

 

GIRL: _[still singing]_ Your clone loves my clone, but yours cannot see

 

That's no way to be, in heaven

 

No sorrow, no heartache, just clone harmony

 

So obviously, it's heaven

 

 

No naughty clone ladies allowed in the eighties

 

No bed names, no sex games, just clone names and clone games

 

And you know and I know my clone sleeps alone _[she points to the clone nearest her]_

 

 

Before we existed, the cloning began

 

The cloning of man and woman

 

When we're gone, they'll live on, cloned endlessly

 

It's mandatory...in heaven

 

 

But they won't remember or ever be tender

 

No loving, no caring, no program for pairing

 

No VD, no cancer; on TV's the answer

 

No father, no mother, she's just like the others

 

 

No naughty clone ladies allowed in the eighties

 

And you know and I know my clone sleeps alone

 

My clone sleeps alone!

 

My clone sleeps alone!

 

 

_[ALL THE CLONES run offstage in both directions, revealing ANOTHER LONE FIGURE rising on ANOTHER CHAIR out of the bottom of the stage, dead centre. THIS FIGURE is SAM TYLER, in a leather jacket, flares, and cuban heels. MORE MUSIC begins playing as he begins to sing.]_

 

 

SAM: _singing_ "Never again," isn't that what you said?

 

You've been through this before

 

And you swore this time, you'd think with your head

 

No one would ever have you again

 

And if takin was gonna get done

 

You'd decide where and when

 

Just when you think you've got it down

 

Your heart securely tied and bound

 

They whisper promises in the dark...

 

 

_[THE MUSIC FADES, and the image fades too as we realise this was all a dream and SAM TYLER awakens in his bed, soaked with sweat. SAM looks around anxiously, seeing the image of TEST CARD F on his television, minus the girl and her clown.]_

 

 

SAM: If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing right. _[He gets out of bed, grabs his jacket, slips his boots on, and exits the room, humming to himself as he begins to stalk the night streets, presumably in search of THE MISSING TEST-CARD GIRL.]_

 

 

SAM: _[singing again]_ I need a lover that won't drive me crazy

 

I need a lover that won't drive me mad

 

I need a lover that won't drive me crazy

 

I need a lover that won't drive me crazy

 

Someone to thrill me, and then go away

 

I need a lover that won't drive me crazy

 

Someone that knows the meaning of "ah - hey, hit the highway!"

 

 

_[SAM finally manages to track down THE TEST CARD GIRL, and makes short work of knocking her out and slinging her over his shoulder. Luckily, it's just behind his building, so it's not too difficult to sneak back up to his flat undetected. Work complete, he turns toward the camera and begins singing again as he heaves the girl up the steps to his flat.]_

 

 

Well I've been walking the streets in the evening

 

Racing through this human jungle at night

 

I'm so confused, my mind is indifferent

 

Hey - I'm so weak, won't someone shut out that light?

 

 

_[SAM reaches his door, and there is a FADE TO BLACK as he and the girl vanish into his flat.]_

******

_[INT of CID. Next day. It is apparent they are on a case, and it looks to be a big one.]_

 

 

DCI GENE HUNT: This one's ugly. But we're gonna catch this scum who's killing little girls, whoever he is, and teach him that NO ONE messes with my city. No one. You got that?

 

 

_[Everyone nods and begins moving toward the door. We see SAM TYLER sat next to CHRIS SKELTON, RAY CARLING, AND ANNIE CARTWRIGHT ranged around DCI HUNT.]_

 

 

SAM: I'm going to check out some toy shops, see if someone's bought a job lot of these clowns. 

 

 

GENE: If your fancy ways can find our killer, go right ahead, Dorothy.

 

 

SAM: Thanks for the vote of confidence, Guv.

 

 

_[SAM leaves, and a fast-paced synthesizer beat comes up behind him. He picks up the pace, and begins singing as passersby start whispering "get nervous" in rhythm around him as he passes them in the street.]_

 

 

SAM:

 

 

I feel a little shaky, I can't control my nerves

 

I know you think I'm fakin', but can't you feel the curve

 

I swear to you that feelin', it scares me half to death

 

It gathers in my throat and it gathers up my breath

 

 

Anxiety got me on the run

 

anxiety, yeah I just need someone

 

Anxiety, can't get nothing done

 

anxiety spoils all the fun

 

 

_[SAM stops in an IRONMONGERS, but finds nothing. Next door to the IRONMONGERS is a HOMEBREW SHOP. The music continues to play and he continues to sing as he walks inside and the camera follows him down the aisles as he gathers various implements together---some flexible tubing, some sugar, and a spigot.]_

 

 

I'm pickin' up the telephone, there's no one I could call

 

I need somebody bad and I get no sleep at all

 

I wish I could relax, I just can't stop my mind

 

I wish I could collapse, but my body's not that kind

 

 

Anxiety got me on the run

 

anxiety, yeah I just need someone

 

Anxiety, can't get nothing done

 

anxiety spoils all the fun

 

 

Can't you hear my heart beat, hear the way it sounds

 

Can't you hear my heart beat, hear the way it pounds

 

Just give me something to slow it down, yeah

 

 

_[THE MUSIC FADES, as SAM bumps headlong into GENE.]_

 

 

Gene: What's all this, then?

 

 

Sam: Oh, I'm going to make toffee and boiled sweets and all sorts of lovely things for all the kids to eat! No luck with the clowns, but something about being in all those toy shops brought out my inner child! _[SAM grins his most winning, goofy grin at the Guv.]_

 

 

Gene: More like your inner Fanny Craddock. Come on, Fanny, there's work needs doing.

******

_[SAM is now concerned. A NEW BODY has turned up and it's not one he remembers doing. A NOTE arrives on his desk in CID while he's out. He turns it over in his hand wonderingly. It bears only two words. "Joni. Midnight."]_

******

_[NEAR MIDNIGHT. SAM walks down the street toward the canal, once again singing his exposition.]_

 

 

SAM: _[singing]_ I had it with the same old routine

 

I had it with the same old faces, places

 

Everynight, in my life

 

I started feeling washed up, washed out

 

Hung up, wrung out, left to dry out

 

Everynight

 

 

But I know

 

Yeah, I know you’re out there, somewhere

 

Oh, I, I can almost hear you callin’

 

I’m looking for a stranger in the night

 

I need a little danger in my life, tonight...

 

 

_[SAM arrives at the canal as the music fades away. DC CHRIS SKELTON steps out of the shadows, as if on cue.]_

 

 

CHRIS: _[singing]_

 

In the heat of the night, when you know it ain't right

 

But you do what you wanna do

 

You do what you feel, no one can feel like you

 

Out in the summertime city, ain't it a pity

 

There's so much to tie you down

 

You're leaving tonight to somewhere you can't be found...

 

 

_[THE MUSIC FADES, and SAM realises CHRIS is nothing like he'd thought.]_

 

 

SAM: It was...you?

 

 

CHRIS: Oh, yes. I've been learning a lot. _[CHRIS lunges for SAM with a wicked grin on his face and pins him against a wall, kissing him more and more urgently and drawing blood.]_

 

 

_[SAM moans, then grabs CHRIS' hand and begins pulling him down the street, in the general direction of his flat. More music begins playing.]_

 

 

SAM: _[singing]_

 

Your love's contagious, one kiss is dangerous

 

But I have more to risk, than you to lose

 

I feel passion growing

 

I know that love is only just one inch away, from striking us

 

We live for love

 

We live for love

 

 

_[THE TWO MEN arrive at SAM'S flat, and he clumsily opens the door even as CHRIS' busy hands are everywhere. Heedless of this, Sam continues singing. All the while both of them rip each other's clothes off, in fact, Sam continues singing.]_

 

 

When we get tired, and watch the summer fade away

 

Will you think of romance, what will we do? 

 

Is there a place where we can go? 

 

Where time stands still for those who know? 

 

Till eternity will fulfill our desires?

 

 

 

_[BOTH MEN are now in the throes of sex, and grasping each other's cocks in carefully choreographed time, they begin rocking in rhythm as they sing the next chorus.]_

 

 

We live for love

 

We live for love

 

We live for love

 

We live for love

 

 

_[SAM continues to sing on his own as they move toward the shower. CHRIS mouths the words "I'm going to fuck you" and grabs at a jar of Vaseline SAM has indicated in the medicine chest behind him. SAM sings the following as he turns the bloodbath on and CHRIS turns him around and bends him over.]_

 

 

I never planned to win the race

 

But you convinced me face to face

 

There was never a chance of losing at all

 

 

_[BOTH MEN pant out the next chorus as CHRIS pumps SAM in time with their singing. Moaning. Singing. Yeah.]_

 

 

We live for love

 

We live for love

 

We live for love

 

We live for love

 

 

_[THE TWO MEN are now in SAM'S bed, utterly spent. Still, they sing each other to sleep.]_

 

 

SAM AND CHRIS: We're running with the shadows of the night

 

So baby take my hand, it'll be all right

 

Surrender all your dreams to me tonight

 

They'll come true in the end...

 

 

Use every alibi and words you deny

 

That love ain't meant to last

 

You can cry tough baby, it's all right

 

You can let me down easy, but not tonight

 

 

We're running with the shadows of the night

 

So baby take my hand, it'll be all right

 

Surrender all your dreams to me tonight

 

They'll come true in the end...

******

_[WE'RE INSIDE SAM'S HEAD. He's dreaming. There's...music! A MONTAGE of the next string of events plays, as CHRIS turns on SAM and delivers some much-needed evidence to GENE.]_

 

 

TEST-CARD GIRL: _[singing]_ Armed and ready, you fought love battles in the night

 

But too many opponents made you weary of the fight

 

Blinded by passion, you foolishly let someone in

 

All the warnings went off in your head, still you had to give in

 

 

Just when you think you got it down

 

Resistance nowhere to be found

 

They whisper promises in the dark

 

 

But promises, you know what they're for

 

It sounds so convincing, but you heard it before

 

Cause talk is cheap and you gotta be sure

 

And so you put up your guard

 

And you try to be hard but your heart says try again

 

 

You desperately search for a way to conquer the fear

 

No line of attack has been planned to fight back the tears

 

Where bold and restless dreams are both won and lost

 

On the edge is where it seems its well worth the cost

 

 

Just when you think you got it down

 

Your heart in pieces on the ground

 

They whisper promises in the dark...

******

_[SAM is now trussed up like a Christmas turkey, on his own butcher's block table, completely naked. CHRIS stands by, grinning evilly. SAM had been unconscious, but now he's come awake.]_

 

 

SAM: You fucked me and then _YOU FUCKED ME!_

 

 

_[CHRIS merely leers. His eyes are flat, cold, and completely unlike the CHRIS to which everyone else is accustomed.]_

 

 

SAM: _[singing]_ Ooo, you're givin me the fever tonight

 

I don't wanna give in

 

I'd be playin with fire

 

You forget, I've seen you work before

 

Take `em straight to the top

 

Leave `em cryin for more

 

Ive seen you burn `em before

 

 

Fire and ice

 

You come on like a flame

 

Then you turn a cold shoulder

 

Fire and ice

 

I wanna give you my love

 

But you'll just take a little piece of my heart

 

 

You'll just tear it apart

 

 

Movin' in for the kill tonight

 

You got every advantage when they put out the lights

 

It's not so pretty when it fades away

 

Cause it's just an illusion in this passion play

 

I've seen you burn `em before

 

 

Fire and ice

 

You come on like a flame

 

Then you turn a cold shoulder

 

Fire and ice

 

I wanna give you my love

 

But you'll just take a little piece of my heart

 

 

You'll just tear it apart

 

 

So you think you got it all figured out

 

You're an expert in the field, without a doubt

 

But I know your methods inside and out

 

And I won't be taken in by fire and ice

 

 

CHRIS: Oh, please, _Boss_ , won't you SHUT UP?!

 

 

_[CHRIS knocks SAM out cold, and the music goes dead.]_


End file.
